


Nightmares

by Brimstone_and_Roses



Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Compliant, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fuck the Vinsmokes, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Nightmares, Zeff is the only father Sanji needs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:29:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,243
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26998957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brimstone_and_Roses/pseuds/Brimstone_and_Roses
Summary: When Zeff had first met him, Sanji was crying, but those tears were filled with an unmoving determination to not let his dreams be crushed- that's what Zeff had first seen in him. Now was different, now his eyes were overflowing with raw, unfettered pain and silent pleas for help that Zeff was clueless how to answer.
Relationships: Aka Ashi no Zeff | Red-Leg Zeff & Vinsmoke Sanji
Comments: 7
Kudos: 121





	Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> I really like wholesome familial relationships in One Piece so here's Zeff being the dad Sanji really needed.

There was never a dull day in the Baratie floating restaurant; that was a fact that Zeff had accepted many years ago when it had first opened. It was his idea to build such an establishment after losing a leg rather than returning to the life of a pirate captain, but still he found himself questioning what on this world had possessed him to make him think it was even remotely a good idea. Whether it be the shrill, whining complaints of fussy customers, or the staff themselves lashing out in the kitchen, he couldn't catch a break for so much as thirty seconds without something or other inevitably going wrong.

But there was always the challenge of it all to drive him on! The fast paced rush of it really made him feel right at home. The chefs were like his very own pirate crew once again, following his every command to the letter in record time. Zeff couldn't have possibly traded this job for the world. Even if given the chance to have his old life back, he wouldn't have been able to accept it. He had grown all too fond of his little mismatched family of chefs.

So here he was, one-legged and the owner of this eccentric floating restaurant, and to top it off he was in charge of looking after a little brat too! A no-good, loud mouthed, hot-headed shitty little brat! If Zeff believed in any god, he would have presumed they must have had it out for him for putting the kid in his care of all people.

Though, he couldn't exactly complain. It was entirely his choice to save the kid after all. Not only had he pulled him from the water, but he even sacrificed his own leg to keep him from going hungry despite not even having learned the brat's name.

Occasionally Zeff would imagine what his life would be like if he had ignored the shitty little brat on that day. The kid would have found himself swimming the fishes, of course, but what about Zeff? Maybe he would still have his leg, maybe he'd still be searching for All Blue in the Grand Line, or maybe fate would find another way to take its course.

Now he was by no means a big believer in this whole predetermined density crap. He would occasionally hear customers spouting off about (mainly those on dates desperately explaining to their company that they were simply destined to be with each other and must meet again), but there was always the slim chance that it all would've found its way back to where he was now. The boy could have miraculously survived on his own and he could have quite easily lost his leg in some other freak accident. 

It wasn't impossible to think that maybe it was simply just supposed to end up this way. Destiny could have decided his time as a pirate was over, or maybe some god had decided to punish him for his crimes committed as a captain. Whatever it may be, he was still somehow glad. Life would be unimaginable without what he had now.

Now this kid- Zeff was unsure. He'd never been the parental type to begin with, that much was obvious with so much as a glance at those unforgiving eyes and intimidating stature, but this brat was something else entirely. Upon being saved from what was presumed to be their final resting place, Zeff found his name to be Sanji. Twice now he'd prodded the kid for a second name to see if he could find his real parents, only to be met with a dismissive shrug and a poor excuse before scurrying off to his room. Hell, even a blind man could see with clarity that Sanji was hiding something here, but still Zeff didn't want to pry. There were secrets stewing away in that little head there, but quite frankly Zeff was afraid to ask.

Admittedly, Sanji- lovingly nicknamed 'shitty little brat' or 'little eggplant' depending on the chef's mood- wasn't all too much of a bother. He was significantly more well behaved than the other far older members of the team, though still found himself in trouble often enough for Zeff to be sick of scolding him for the week by the time it hit Wednesday. Sometimes it'd be smashing plates, other times arguing with other chefs, but more often than not it would be the constant unbearable fawning over every woman that entered the restaurant that had led to fights or dropped glasses.

He was willing to help out around the kitchen, eccentric at the idea of cooking in fact! Once or twice he'd even been caught up on his own passed closing time developing his own recipes and cooking styles. Zeff never interrupted those moments, instead watching from the doorway to make sure the kid didn't hurt himself with those sharp knives or hot stove tops.

And of course, Sanji still had his dreams. People mocked him and beat him down for it, but still he had that determined little pout on his face whenever he was thinking about the All Blue. Even the other chefs told him to give it up, but those efforts to tread on his dreams all ended up futile. It was admirable. Even as a child- so weak and brittle compared fo everyone else- he would stand his ground for the dream nobody else understood.

"I promise I'll find it, then I'll take you there too, you shitty old geezer," Sanji stood furiously scrubbing away at some dishes. There was a wooden vegetable crate beneath his feet to help give him a little boost of height, but still he was quietly struggling away to himself as he stretched out his arms to grab the next dirty plate. Zeff considered getting a taller step to help the kid, only to decide against it in the end. He'd grow in no time, soon enough there wouldn't even be need for a vegetable crate.

"I don't doubt it for a second, eggplant," Zeff planted a large hand on Sanji's head, ruffling about the locks of blonde hair. "When you find it you can prove all those bastards wrong." Sanji's pouting lips turned up at that, a grin wide spread across his face in its place. It was a pure sight of unfettered child-like determination and stubbornness, a sight Zeff found himself smiling towards.

The kid continued working through the ever-growing piles of dishes as the chef chopped through yet another onion and pulled another to the chopping board. No time to waste talking to the brat, the orders were still flying in. There was always time to talk after closing.

\---

Captain's quarters, 11:57pm.  
Now Zeff was staring face to face with the one single most terrifying, heart-wrenching, sickening sight in his life. Sanji, the independent, strong-willed little kid he'd been raising for the better part of two years, now standing beside his bed with tears brimming in his glossed over eyes. Never did Zeff think he'd be caught so utterly helpless against the teary-eyed gaze of a mere sniffling child.

"Eggplant?" He kept his tone hushed as a hulking 6'2 former pirate could in this situation- which wasn't exactly easy, may I add. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Zeff shuffled himself up till he was sitting upright. "You- What's wrong? Why aren't you in bed?"

Wide, bloodshot eyes stared up towards him, tear-tracked stained cheeks puffed up as Sanji made his best attempt to keep himself together, and Zeff felt painfully powerless as he was reminded that he was dealing with a child here. This was a _child _, a god damn child that he was somehow raising. His voice was barely even that of a mouse's whisper, "can I.. Can I sleep in your bed? Just for the night?"__

__He only stared, chest pounding with an inexplicable ache at hearing such a desperate, strained voice from someone so frail and vulnerable. It took a few moments before he finally found his words, spluttering as he shuffled along to make some space for Sanji. "Sure, come on, eggplant, come on," he uttered, patting the space beside him._ _

__Sanji climbed up with a small struggling, side pressing against Zeff as he pulled his knees up to his chest. Zeff was cautious, hesitant to move or so much as open his mouth. If this was any of his employees, he'd have given them a simple ruffle of their hair and told them to get themselves together, but it had been far too long since he'd dealt with a child, let alone one in tears._ _

__Sanji had never been the most emotional child. He was bold, yes, and even got defensive at time against the adults with his witty remarks and snappy comments, but he rarely ever cried. When Zeff first met him, Sanji was crying, but those tears were filled with an unmoving determination to not let his dreams be crushed- that's what Zeff had first seen in him. Now was different, now his eyes were overflowing with raw, unfettered pain and silent pleas for help that Zeff was clueless how to answer._ _

__Finally, he moved. A slow, cautious hand coming to rest on Sanji's small hunched shoulders. "Was it a nightmare?" Sanji's frown warbled as he nodded his head an afraid 'yes', expression baring eyes wide with the excruciating pain of an innocent child unable to speak out. "Do you want to talk about it, eggplant?" Sanji's head shook an uncertain silent 'no'._ _

__Zeff didn't want to push, invading other's privacy wasn't his thing, but here he couldn't help but feel the need to just give him one more push into speaking. If he just knew, he could help the kid or at least find someone else able to do that if he couldn't. "Sanji," he started with a cautious sigh, "you know you can talk to me. If it's about a nightmare, or the other chefs, or your family-"_ _

__At that it finally pushed Sanji over the edge he'd been teetering on till this point. His tight-lipped frown finally fell open and sorrow flowed freely from his eyes. A wail tore through his throat, piercing and carrying what could only be described as the shattered memories of a broken boy._ _

__Zeff had made his guesses about his family before. Refusal to give his last name, never once mentioning any of them within the almost three years he'd known him, and a crude mix of jealousy and misery behind those eyes whenever he saw a smiling child running into the restaurant with their laughing parents. Sanji didn't have a family- at least not a biological one. Be it orphaned or a run away, he was alone in this big scary world, and it was all too much for someone so small._ _

__"Oh, Eggplant, I'm sorry," apologized Zeff, pulling the shaking Sanji into a safe hug. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm here, eggplant," words of reassurance tumbled from his lips before he could comprehend them. How did this work again? He'd gotten endless advice from friends and coworkers on raising a child but suddenly all of that was gone and was back at square one. It felt like being back on that rock; isolated, alone, starving. He couldn't focus, but he knew he had to do something to fix this. What? He couldn't even begin to guess._ _

__Sanji was in hysterics, tears now waterfalls of despair staining his pale cheeks a puffy red as he turned towards Zeff. Small hands gripped onto his shirt as if they were clinging for dear life, pulling at the fabric and pouring his heart out into Zeff's shirt. It would be no use asking him to talk, not like this. The poor kid could hardly get a word out, let alone form coherent sentences._ _

__Zeff found his own eyes clouding over, the heart he once thought to be frozen over now wrenching in his chest. It all brought back so many memories of their first meeting. Sanji was still that starving child he'd met all that time ago, overflowing with raw emotion so unlike anything he'd seen before. Zeff was still that pirate looking for redemption, willing to give up whatever it took to give the kid a better chance at life. In those past years not a thing had changed._ _

__Sanji sniffled and loosened his grip with shaking hands. "I-I don't.. Don't w-want to go ba-back," he hiccuped between his words, the tears still warbling his voice. Finally the cracks were beginning to show: he wasn't the tough little kid he tried so hard to be, he was vulnerable and afraid. He needed what every child did. He needed the love of someone who really cared._ _

__"You're safe, Sanji, I promise," he cradled the back of Sanji's head in his hand, "I promise you." It may not have been that day, or the day after, but Zeff swore to himself that he'd one day be able to provide Sanji with what he so needed. No matter the cost, be it time, money or the rest of his own damn life, he'd give everything in his heart to this kid._ _

__A burnt out yawn pushed passed Sanji's lips, head falling against the chef with the exhaustion of all those tears weighing on his eyelids, "thank you, dad.."_ _

__Until that day, this would be enough._ _

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!


End file.
